Tenant Claims Landlord Was Responsible for Robbery in Lobby

Tenant sued landlord after she was attacked and robbed at gunpoint in the building lobby. Tenant claimed that the attacker gained access due to a malfunctioning lock on an entryway door and that landlord breached its common law duty to take minimal security precautions against reasonably foreseeable criminal acts. Landlord claimed that it wasn’t responsible and asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed, and the case was reopened. There were genuine questions of fact that required a trial. These concerned whether landlord had actual or constructive notice of a defective lock, and whether the attack was foreseeable. Tenant claimed that the lock wasn’t working for at least a week before the attack and that her husband had complained to the building super. Also, the NYPD had identified a robbery pattern in the building’s neighborhood and a homicide had occurred in front of the building a few weeks before the robbery.